In 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State
Department instructed their employees to avoid the words “salafi,”
“wahhabist,” “caliphate,” and “jihadist” as offensive to Muslims when
used by non-Muslims. On the advice of unidentified Muslim consultants,
the word “liberty” was also dropped in favor of “progress.” That year,
the U.K. Home Secretary also dropped the term “Islamic terrorism” and
instead instituted “anti-Islamic activity.” In 2009, the U.S. Homeland
Security secretary dropped “Islamic terrorism” in favor of “man-made
disasters.” The May 2010 U.S. National Security Strategy document, which
in previous years had said, “The struggle against militant Islamic
radicalism is the great ideological conflict of the early years of the
21st century,” dropped any reference to “Islamic extremism.”